This invention relates to fiberboard carton for shipping and displaying firearms and, in particular, shotguns with the barrel and stock portion separated.
In the prior art, various cartons have been used to transport firearms in either an assembled or disassembled state. When broken down, the stock and barrel may be housed in separate carton chambers in a compact packaging arrangement. The barrel, being relatively heavy, tends to move laterally during transit and unless securely restrained may cause damage to the ends of the carton and may even break through the carton after rough handling. To avoid such damage, various fillers or inserts have been placed in the carton to prevent movement of the barrel.
Some recent patents, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,156,351 to Small and 3,907,108 to Weimer, have each disclosed a unitary, one-piece carton blank which folds to produce a carton with a series of vertical and horizontal panels to hold separate pieces of a disassembled weapon in a fixed position. The present invention is an improvement upon these types of cartons.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a unitary fiberboard carton construction which is convenient to use for shipping and retail distribution of shotguns and which securely holds the shotgun during shipments.
It is another object to provide a shipping carton which can be used for attractive retail display of the firearm.
It is another object to provide a display carton which permits a weapon to be removed for inspection and subsequently repackaged without damage to the carton.
It is another object to provide and display a carton, commensurate with the above-listed objects with locking tabs that permit the cover of the display carton to be securely closed and quicky locked in place so that a buyer can conveniently transport the gun in the display carton.
The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent when the following description is taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.